Kenya
Just Transition in Plastic Governance
Guide for local and national decision-makers This brief provides practical guidance for authorities seeking to improve plastic regulation and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) implementation. Based on evidence from Mombasa, Kenya, it shows how governance arrangements that engage waste pickers can reduce plastic leakage, improve environmental and health outcomes, and strengthen the cost-effectiveness of public action,…
Brand Audits
A tool for local governments to foster a just and plastic-free transition County governments carry the costs of plastic pollution but lack the tools to enforce producer accountability. Brand audits provide a cost-effective, citizen-led method to support EPR enforcement. Participatory audits strengthen local democracy, transparency, and inclusion of waste pickers. Institutionalizing brand audits can advance…
Designing participation for better health outcomes
What Local Governments Can Learn from Participatory Budgeting in Kenya Participatory budgeting is widely promoted as a way to strengthen local democracy, but evidence on its effects on concrete development outcomes – especially health – remains limited. This policy brief summarises findings from a randomised controlled trial in rural Kenya that tested three forms of…
Towards a Just Transition in Plastic Governance: Grassroots Waste Pickers, Participatory Spaces, and Environmental Democracy in Kenya
This study draws on the case of Mombasa county, Kenya, to examine the participatory spaces through which grassroots waste pickers engage local government and the implications for a just transition in plastic governance. Using environmental democracy and grassroots innovation frameworks, the analysis extends Gaventa’s typology of invited and created spaces by introducing co-created spaces emerging…
New Kenya–Sweden Partnerships Approved by ICLD
Two new applications for democratic partnerships have recently been approved through ICLD. The municipalities of Norrköping and Arvika will now have the opportunity, together with their Kenyan partner municipalities, to build on their experiences from previous ICLD projects. Norrköping is collaborating with the municipalities of Embu and Homa Bay County, while Arvika is working with…
Designing Local Democracy for Health: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial on Public Participation in Kenya
Participatory governance mechanisms, particularly participatory budgeting (PB), aim to give citizens a direct role in public spending decisions. While celebrated globally, evidence of their real-world impact, especially in low-income settings is limited. Study Design We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, assigning 200 villages to one of three PB formats: consultation,…
Equitable Healthcare Provision in a Resource-constrained Setting
This case scenario from Homa Bay County, Kenya, illustrates efforts by a local government to provide equitable healthcare to its citizens during limited resources being scrambled for by all government sectors. These challenges, combined with a high disease burden, contributes to a low quality of life in the County.The purpose of this scenario is to…
Norrköping – Embu County & Homa Bay County, Kenya
Project: Women empowerment and technical services, Norrköping-G7 The Municipality of Norrköping has collaborated with Uasin Gishu County in Kenya for several years through the municipal partnership NORELD. Building on this established cooperation, a new inception project has been initiated with the aim of preparing for continued and deepened collaboration. During 2024, joint activities were carried…
Arvika – Nakuru & Kwale County, Kenya
Project: Empowerment within technical services, Arvika – G7 Arvika Municipality established a municipal partnership with Uasin Gishu County in Kenya in 2019. During the final phase of this collaboration, opportunities were identified to disseminate the project results to additional counties in Kenya. With the support of the project consultant, Business in Progress, contact was established…
Partnership and governance for health and resilience
The ICLD partnership between Homa Bay County and Region Västerbotten has been a driving force behind the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on partnership and governance for health and resilience in relation to climate and the environment in the Kenyan Lake Region. The MoU has been signed by Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, and Busia…
